


1 New Message

by henry_amargosa



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: Beaches, Flirting, M/M, Payback, Shirtless, Sunburn, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-10 03:36:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4375682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/henry_amargosa/pseuds/henry_amargosa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jude is innocently eating breakfast when a message from Connor nearly chokes him to death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1 New Message

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Tumblr user [GavinMacIntoshChile's edit of Gavin's photo](http://gavinmacintoshchile.tumblr.com/post/121736610673/sorry-blood-makes-me-sick-thegavinmacintosh) from after his skating crash.
> 
> There's no sexting or any explicit dirty thoughts in this fic, because they're 13. But there is some description of the picture of Gavin I appropriated as Connor's. This fic is set on the day of the LGBT prom in 5x04, and is semi-compliant with canon.

Jude, as usual on a Saturday, had slept late, and he was by himself in the kitchen, munching down a bowl of cereal. Callie, Mariana and AJ were all getting ready for a day at the beach, one of the perks of living so close to the ocean. Jude didn’t really have that much to do to get ready anyway, so he hit the snooze button a few times to catch a little extra shut-eye.

His phone buzzed. He and Connor had been trading messages for twenty minutes with plans on where and when to meet at the beach, so he wasn’t too surprised to see yet another message notification from his boyfriend.

What Jude was surprised to see, however, was a picture of Connor shirtless and flexing in his bathroom mirror.

Jude paused mid-chew, and if it weren’t for the mouthful of milk his jaw would have dropped.

His eyes flicked up to read the text at the top: “Puttin on sunscreen & thought u might like a preview of what ull see @ the beach.”

Eyes dipping lower, Jude drank in the sight of his boyfriend’s shirtless torso. He certainly knew Connor was good-looking — that was part of the reason Jude was attracted to him, along with his kind heart and puppy-dog personality, and his sense of humor, and his mutual love for “Star Wars” and video games. But those qualities can’t be sent in a sext.

Jude didn’t know what to focus on first: Connor’s pursed lips, head bent slightly to fit into the frame. His toned pectorals, with his little metal necklace nestled in between like it was meant to hang just there. His pink nipples, perked up from the cold of the bathroom. His belly-button, which Jude had the weird urge to touch. Connor’s six pack, an honest to God six pack on _his_ boyfriend. The underwear peeking out from his low-slung shorts. Jude’s finger hovered over the photo, about to move in for a closer look.

Jude was so captivated he didn’t notice Mariana tromping into the kitchen behind him.

“Whoa, is that Connor? Does he have an older brother?” Jude spun around so quickly he started choking on the lump of cereal that had been caught in his throat since he opened the message. Jude sat there, hacking and coughing, as Mariana reached into the fruit bowl for an apple.

“Just wanted to grab a snack for the beach,” she said. “I see you’ve got something delicious too.”

“Oh my GOD,” Jude choked out, wiping away a couple of tears that had welled up as he struggled to regain his composure.

“I’m just kidding, I know Connor’s an only child,” Mariana said, walking out of the room. “But way to go Judicorn!”

Jude stumbled over to the shelf for a glass, then to the sink for water. His throat finally cleared, he leaned against the counter, staring at his phone on the table. The image was seared onto his eyeballs, and to be honest, he rather liked it.

He had finally caught his breath when Callie yelled down the stairs. “Jude, come on, we gotta get a move on!”

“I’m coming,” he hollered back. Grabbing his phone as he left, he made sure to lock it. One can never be too careful when Mariana is around.

*****

Callie, AJ and Mariana were still getting set up on the beach, but Jude and Connor just dumped their towels side by side and plopped down facing one another. They sat in silence for a moment before Connor pulled out his cell phone. It was difficult to see the screen on the sunny beach, but he wanted to ask Jude about something that he definitely didn’t want the others to hear.

“So nothing 2 say about my message this morning?”

“Mari wanted 2 know if u have a brother.”

“Nope, there’s only 1 Connor Stevens. But wut did *U* think?”

“It was OK I guess”

“OK? OK!? That’s all I get?”

Connor huffed as he pressed send, and several seconds later heard Jude’s phone beep. But Jude ignored it. He simply sat with his legs pulled up to his chest, staring out at the water. Connor noticed a tiny grin pulling at his boyfriend’s lips. He jabbed out another quick message.

“YO”

Jude sighed, and finally typed back a message.

“Man, your ego is even bigger than your pecs…”

“So you noticed my pecs”

“Yeah yeah Mr. Conceited. UR so needy sometimes”

Connor broke out into a huge smile. Jude shook his head in response, but Connor noticed that his little grin hadn’t gone away.

“I think I’m going to do a little tanning,” Connor said loudly so the whole group could hear.

“Make sure to wear sunscreen,” Callie said, tossing him a can of spray-on stuff. Jude noticed Mariana, stretched out on her own towel, smiled deviously and pointedly turned her head in the other direction. Jude thought he noticed some blushing and was about to needle her for it when Connor slipped his shirt off and Jude’s brain stopped working briefly. Somehow it was even better than the picture from an hour ago. Connor’s supple body stretched as he lifted the shirt over his head. Trying not to be too obvious, Jude tried to only watch using his peripheral vision as Connor stepped a few feet away from the group to spray himself. Jude definitely didn’t want to think about Connor’s abs or his perfect belly button or how his muscles now were all shiny from the sunblock. Jude’s eyes were about to strain out of his sockets like in a cartoon when Connor finally stopped spraying himself and laid down on his towel beside Jude.

“Aren’t you going to get some sun?” Connor asked.

“Uh, no,” Jude said, rubbing his forearms and neck with liquid sunblock. “I burn easily.”

“It’s true,” Callie said from a few feet away. “Once when he was ten our foster family took us to a beach and Jude looked like a lobster by lunchtime.”

Everyone chuckled at the idea of a firetruck-red Jude, and then settled in for some leisure time in the sand.

“Oh man,” said Connor, quietly, to just Jude. “I was looked forward to seeing you without your shirt.” He waggled his eyebrows, winked and then shut his eyes, a smile stretching across his lips as he enjoyed the sunlight and the summer.

Jude stretched out on his own towel and began plotting.

*****

That night, Connor had packed his formalwear in a duffel bag before heading over to Jude’s to get ready for the LGBT prom Cole had told them about on the beach. He was just saying goodbye to his father, who had no idea of their true destination, when his phone dinged with a new message.

“OK Stevens, 2 can play at this game…”

Connor furrowed his brow, confused.

“What’s up?” Adam asked him.

“Just a text from Jude,” Connor replied. “I don’t know what it means though. I’ll ask him about it when I get to his house.”

“Okay,” Adam said. “See you later, son.”

“Bye dad.” Connor had just closed the front door when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He fished it out and was walking down the front steps as he opened it. Suddenly, a picture of Jude’s shirtless torso appeared on his screen. Connor’s eyes flashed open in shock, and he was so taken aback his mis-stepped and nearly tumbled down the porch stairs. As it was he only just managed not to fall.

Sitting down on the steps, Connor checked to make sure his father wasn’t looking out the windows behind him. Satisfied, his eyes jumped back to his phone and the picture. He drank in Jude’s slender frame, his prominent collarbones and his soft stomach (Connor decided right then and there he had a thing for Jude’s tummy, though he also decided to never admit that to anyone, even under pain of torture). Connor even noticed what looked like it might be a chest hair. Jude, getting a chest hair before him! No, he decided, it was just a shadow or something.

Connor types out a quick reply.

“R U tryin to KILL me?”

He tucked the phone away and hopped on his bike for the short trip to Jude’s house. He wondered if he could get there fast enough to catch his boyfriend before he’s fully ready for prom. No matter how good Jude looked, Connor vowed to himself, he wouldn't react at all. See how Jude likes a taste of his own medicine. All’s fair in love and war, Connor thought with a snicker.


End file.
